Land Heritage Collection Launched at UNCCD Headquarters

Wed, 01/22/2020 - 12:30

To celebrate 25 years of remarkable positive impact on land, people, communities and society, the UNCCD secretariat launched a collection of land-related commemorative items at UNCCD headquarters in Bonn, Germany. The exhibit embodies the convention's firm commitment to protecting healthy and productive land worldwide. The new Land Heritage Collection welcomes contributions that symbolize countries' land heritage. Submissions will be promoted through UNCCD communication platforms, with every visual element of the exhibit linked to its story.

The first items in the collection are “Eritrea's Balanced Future”, a painting by Habteweld Masgina, and the sculpture “Camel. Mr. Habteweld Masgina is a self-taught painter, who uses art to create vivid images of the devastating effect that irresponsible production and overconsumption have on the future of humanity. He’s from Eritrea, a country located in a drought-prone part of the world. Its land has been heavily degraded due to man-made and natural processes. Since 1991, the governent of Eritrea has been implementing land rehabilitation activities including construction of water reservoirs, community mobilization and awareness-raising campaigns.

The Camel sculpture was presented to UNCCD secretariat by the Coordinator of the Chadian NGO Association Tchadienne des Volontaires pour la Protection de l'Environnement (ATVPE) Mr. Mahamat Ahmat Abbas, on the occasion of the Climate Change Conference COP23. ATVPE has been working with local communities, particularly rural farmers, women and youth groups to implement agroforestry projects in Chad.